A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
Neo Sci-Fi was one of those releases where you either totally loved or hated the packaging (I loved it).
So very orange, like Tabs’ tum…
From the left: Lipstick in Pleasureseeker (Glaze); Lipstick in Sunsonic (Frost) and Lipglass in Supreme
Sheertone Shimmer Blush in Spaced Out
Eyeshadows in Magnetic Fields (Veluxe Pearl) and Expensive Pink (Veluxe Pearl)
Wow, this takes me back… Among my circle of high school friends in the early ’90s, Wet ‘n’ Wild Lipsticks and their infamous 666 Lip Liner were the cat’s meow (hey, they were only a buck!), and Cornsilk pressed powder showed up a lot, too.
Sea Breeze toner, Noxzema cleanser and Buff Puffs could usually be found in my friends’ bathrooms, and the scent of Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth, Coty’s Exclamation, Cover Girl’s Navy (my personal fave) and Liz Claiborne (remember the triangle bottle?) almost always filled the air.
Our hair was usually BIG and totally defied gravity, which required massive amounts of hairspray, of course. Almost every girl I knew carried a bottle of Aqua Net in her purse, and if you had a perm (or naturally curly hair), you probably also toted around L’Oreal’s Pumping Curls.
How about you? What were the must-have makeup and beauty products when you were younger?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. What are you up to tonight? I’m off to check out Novato’s last farmers’ market of the season because I wanna get my fruit on, haaaay! 🙂
“Bitch, don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
–Tabs the Cat
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live with a creature so beautiful, so genetically blessed, that the mere sight of his silky fur fills supermodels with envy and makes stylists question their careers, let me tell ya, it ain’t easy.
Don’t get me wrong — I love Tabs’ shiny coat. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him. Even though he’d been living on the streets when we met, he had fur like a feline Adonis.
Even my mom is obsessed with it. When she visited this summer she asked, “Do you guys feed him something special? His fur is so shiny! I wish I had hair like that.”
When I told her that he weighed 18 pounds, rather than suggest he get more exercise or go on a diet, she said, “Leave him alone. He takes after the big-boned side of the family!” 🙂 She lavished so much attention on him that I think his little kitty ego was about to explode.
Since that visit, Tabs has been even more of a diva when it comes to his fur, and now he refuses to be seen in public with me unless I do something to drastically enhance my hair.
Just the other day he texted, “Woman, that mop you call hair needs to shine. Make it happen, ASAP! I can’t take it anymore.”
Obnoxious!
Since whatever Tabby wants, Tabby gets, I paid an emergency visit to the salon and asked my stylist, Alis, for a recommendation. As a fellow cat lady, and one living with not one but two demanding kitties, she understood the urgency and handed me a bottle of Bumble and Bumble Shine On (And On…) Finishing Spray ($25 for a 4.2-oz. bottle).
It’s a new lightweight liquid spray to add shine while taming flyaways and enhancing dimension. In a way, it does for hair what ribbons and bows do for presents.
Mist it directly on your hair or into your palms first, and then run your fingers through from roots to ends to thoroughly distribute the product. I’ve been using two sprays on my thick, medium-length hair.
Wearing Pixi All-Over Magic Powder in No. 2 Rose Radiance on the apples of my cheeks and No. 3 Brightening Radiance on my upper cheekbones
These new Pixi All-Over Magic Powders ($24 each) take me back to my teens, and those kinder, gentler days when I’d wake up every morning with a built-in youthful glow.
Subtlety and sheen characterize the three brightening blushes and highlighters (one isn’t shown here), each of which contain five colors designed to be swirled together when applied.
No. 2 Rose Radiance (applies as a warm pink with shimmer)
No. 3 Brightening Radiance (applies as a light pinkish peach with shimmer)
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…I’ve got rosemary.
The previous owner planted three rosemary bushes in the front yard, and now they’re out of control. I like it fine as an herb, but I’m not a ho for it like I am for basil.
Got any ideas for things to do with rosemary? Other than fish and potato dishes, I have no clue.
P.S. Remember the catnip plant my neighbor’s Russian Blue destroyed? That’s it in the upper right. It’s still hangin’ on!
Here in Marin County — how should I put this? — tie-die is the new black. 🙂 I joke, but this area is a mecca for different ways of thinking, and while my younger self probably would have giggled at some of the self-improvement techniques I’ve been trying lately, my older self has more of an open mind.
One of my new favorite things is to sit on my deck at sunset and mentally list all of the good things that happened that day. Some days the list is shorter than others, but I can usually come up with at least one or two things.
Plus, there’s a great side effect of catching a good sunset: makeup inspiration.
Yesterday, right as the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky turned a golden cantaloupe that looked just like today’s Unsung Hero, MAC Melon Pigment ($20 for a 0.15-oz. jar).
Sometimes the mess factor keeps me from playing with loose pigments. Maybe I’m just a klutz, but I always find a way to get loose shadow in the sink, on my clothes, on the cat and in my hair. Even so, I regularly make exceptions for Melon.
Like a slice of sweet, ripe cantaloupe sprinkled with golden glitter, it looks peachy gold from some angles and pure gold from others.
Delish!
Wearing Pacifica Color Quench Lip Tint in Blood Orange on my lips
FRIDAY NIGHT. 7:57 P.M. SOMEWHERE IN NOVATO.
The sun has set, and I have the cover of darkness now. I’m almost positive I’m going to get away with it. I slowly withdraw the keys to the car from a bowl sitting on a table by the hall. They barely make a sound. Just a quiet jingling, barely audible, and I think I’m safe.
I start toward the door, my eyes checking the corners for signs of movement. The coast is clear. I walk faster now, my sneakers all but silent on the tiled hallway floor.
Almost there. I reach the door and take the knob in my hand, turning slowly. I have one foot out the door when…
“Where ya headed?”
“Gah!” My heart practically leaps from my chest. I turn toward the sound of the voice, but I already know who it is. El Hub. “Uh…to go pick up some medicine,” I reply as naturally as possible, but I don’t feel like I sound convincing. After a few seconds calculating my next move, I realize that I’m still holding the doorknob and promptly let go.
It’s as if he materialized out of thin air like a Portuguese ninja. POOF! Blast him and all those years of martial arts!
A knowing smile creeps across his lips. “Oh,” he asks coyly, “the Costco pharmacy?”
“Uhh…” He likes Costco, so I know I can’t say that. I try to think of something else, but I draw a blank. I know that too much time has passed when he finally speaks again.
“Babe, I don’t think makeup counts as medication.”
The cat’s out of the bag now, so I don’t hold back. “Hello, it totally does!” I shout. “I have a headache, and makeup is like homeopathic or something.”
We both stand there at the door, our unblinking eyes locked together. It’s a familiar battle of wills that continues for a few more seconds. “Well, that sounds serious,” he says, flashing his cutest grin. “Maybe I should drive.”
Makeup addicts, you know you married the right person when even after an exchange like this after a long day at work, your man (or woman) is still willing to shuttle you to Sephora (aka makeup nirvana) to self-medicate on a Friday night. 🙂
And ooh, guuuurl, I had a field day in the store, especially when I got to the Pacifica section.
I’d originally wanted to get some Pacifica Malibu Lemon Body Wash, but for some reason the Sephora near my house recently stopped carrying it (boo!), so I ended up snagging the new Island Vanilla Body Butter and a couple of tubes of their new Color Quench Natural Moisture Lip Tints ($9 each) instead.
Love, LOVE these! I’ve been alternating between the Blood Orange and Guava Berry ones, two of the four available shades, since Friday night, and I like both of them so much that I plan to head back to Sephora this week to get a few more tubes as Christmas stocking stuffers for the ladies in my life.
They’re creamy, moisturizing, non-sticky lip treatments that give lips a light sheen as they lightly coat them with sheer pigment, and man! — they smell and taste yummy (very natural; not synthetic at all). Each one has its own flavor, too. Orange for Blood Orange (obvs) and guava for Guava Berry.
